Chapter Three

One Day in Your Life

A/N: Yah, chapter no.3. More focused on Rinoa.



Selphie Tilmitt sighed happily. It was a beautiful spring day, and all of the windows in her car were open, allowing the sweet scent of flowers to flow in.

"Ack! Selphie! All this wind is blowing all my papers away!" A woman next to her complained.

"Rinny! Come on, don't you love the smell of spring?"

"Not as much as I value sorting the papers for a job I'm going to hopefully get!"

Selphie turned and smiled at her best friend.

"Don't worry! You'll be great. I know how good you are with pets."

"Yeah." Rinoa frowned uncertainly. "Well, at least we'll work together!"

Maybe, I hope so.

"Yep! That'll be sooooo cool!" Selphie giggled. "Just imagine. In a couple of years, we'll both be the owners of Timber's Pet Shop-"

"-except we'd change it to Rinoa and Selphie."

"Selphie and Rinoa!"

"Please, don't flatter yourself!"

They burst out in laughter while an old woman in the car beside them gave them the evil eye. Unbeknownst to this, they continued.

"And then, you and Zone will have little babies. And their dogs will be Angelo's children!"

Rinoa blushed furiously.

"I think it's a little early for that Selphie."

REALLY early for that.

"Oh, come on. You two love each other, not to mention I'll be an aunt!"

"Aunt Selphie? I'd be scared."

"Hey!" Selphie pouted. "And anyway, where is Zone? Didn't he say he'd been coming to your interview?"

"Yeah, but he had a change of plans. Last night-"

"Hehe."

"Stop it Selph! Anyway, last night he kept complaining and saying that he felt horrible. He went to the hospital this morning."

Selphie gasped. Was something wrong with her brother?

"It's okay. I'm pretty sure he just has the flu or something. I had it two weeks ago."

"Yeah...you're right!"

They pulled into the small parking lot of Timber's Pet Shop. Rinoa took a deep breath.

"Here we go!"




Squall dropped his cigarette on the clear road and crushed it with the back of his foot.

Even the air here feels fake. You can't have a decent smoke without feeling claustrophobic.

"Squall!" Someone called behind him. He turned around and saw his mother running up the alley. "What are you doing here? I've been looking all over?"

"I just had a smoke." He shrugged.

Raine sighed.

"I wish you wouldn't, Squall."

"Hmm."

"I don't know why I let you get into that awful habit. I should've seen it when it was coming."

You're right about that.

"It's okay. It makes me feel not so stressed."

"You don't have to say that."

She leaned against the wall with him and they both stood there for 10 minutes or so.

"Did Dad make you come here and talk to me?"

"About Ellone? Yes. I agree with-"

"Him, I know."

She turned slightly to face him, and even though she was a head shorter, Raine's face showed that she clearly had the upper hand.

"Squall, it's not like I'm asking you to go there tomorrow. But I'm sure your sister would really like it if you went, maybe in a few months? I mean, why do you not want to go so much? It can't be so bad."

You don't understand.

"Do you want to tell me why?" She rested a hand on his arm. "Something's wrong, isn't it?"

Squall sighed impatiently.

"No, everything's fine. Let's talk about this some other time. You should go see Dad."

He shrugged off her hand on his arm and walked slowly out of the narrow alley. Slow enough so that, if she wanted to, she could stop him. But they both knew she wouldn't.



Rinoa sat down in the small waiting room. Surrounding her were mothers and children carrying pets on their lap. These were the people who filled up the parking meters.

"You nervous?" Selphie whispered in her ear.

"You ask me this NOW?"

A plump woman came out of the door marked OFFICE and walked over to where Rinoa was sitting.

"Rinoa Lows? Is that you?"

"Yes, I'm her."

The woman smiled warmly at her.

"I'm Marjorie Smith. The owner of the shop. I hope you don't mind waiting a while. We're kind of jammed right now."

"It's all right."

"And Selphie?"

"Yes ma'am, I'm right on it!"

Selphie jumped up from her chair and winked at Rinoa.

"Just relax. Read some magazines or something."

"Okay, thanks."

Rinoa leaned back comfortably in her chair.

They should make all chairs the way the are at the pet shop.

She stretched her arm and took a magazine from the rack on the far side of the wall.

"Political Times. Huh."

Yawn yawn double snore. But I guess the only other magazines are pets and parenting.

She also noticed a very professional looking woman next to her was reading the same thing.

Might as well make myself look good.

Rinoa flipped open the magazine. On the front page was a picture of- who else? Her parents.

"Another reelection..."

The woman beside her looked up.

"Are you reading about President Caraway?"

Rinoa blushed.

"Um, yes."

"Seems like a nice man. I wouldn't mind voting for him again."

Why would you do that?

"Excuse me?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, did I say that out loud?"

The woman chuckled.

"I'm Xu."

"I'm Rinoa. Nice to meet you."

"Rinoa huh? I heard Marjorie saying that you were looking for a job here, if you don't mind my eavesdropping."

"It's okay." She shrugged. "You like Political Times?"

"Actually..." Xu turned a little red. "I heard some reporter had finally managed to catch up with that hot guy from Esthar."

"Huh?"

In Political Times? Give me a break.

"You don't know?" Xu flipped through the pages furiously until she found a picture of a young man outside a huge building. "Aha! There he is."

Rinoa took the magazine and raised an eyebrow.

"A looker, am I right?" Xu smiled.

"Yeah..."

I'll be damned...


A/n: BAD BAD NEWS!!!! Next week evil person will be home, and I probably won't be able to update. I'll try as hard as I can to get a chapter up maybe tomorrow. If not, you'll have to wait until NEXT NEXT monday, and if not...
Hoo boy...
Don't worry, though. I'll find a way.

Gem #1